


remember me love when i'm reborn

by galaxyparade



Series: WolfShin Week 2020 [3]
Category: King's Maker (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Roommates, but still canon-compliant??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:54:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28254954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyparade/pseuds/galaxyparade
Summary: Shin, a history nerd and a diligent university student, gets the surprise of his life when he sees his roommate Wolfgang in his newest history textbook.
Relationships: Wolfgang Goldenleonard/Shin Soohyuk
Series: WolfShin Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2065341
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	remember me love when i'm reborn

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for WolfShin Week 2020 Prompt 3: "Modern AUs"
> 
> Check out other works under #WolfShinWeek2020 on twitter!
> 
> (Also, not beta'ed so I apologize in advance for the incoming grammatical errors)

Shin, a junior undergraduate student majoring in political science and minoring in history, gets the surprise of his life in the fourth week of school. They just started a new module about the rise and fall of the ancient kingdom of Goldenleonard and it is there that he finds himself stuck to one of the assigned readings. The portrait looking back at him from the page of his textbook is his roommate, Wolfgang. Silly, boisterous, kind-hearted, charming Wolfgang.

Shin’s textbook says that this is supposed to be the portrait of the usurper, the seventeenth king of Goldenleonard who rose to the throne at a very young age through a coup d’état and led his country through unstable times. The king’s reign was a long and benevolent one, and the kingdom prospered to new heights under his rule. However, the textbook noted, there was an issue with a successor for the crown and the king died without an eligible heir. Instead, the crown was passed to the highest ranking noble family with many eligible heirs to succeed the throne. Not long after, the prosperity of the kingdom dwindled and about sixty years later, the kingdom fell to ruins after an invasion by the nearby territories under the rule of Grand Duke Haiyan.

Feeling like his brain is about to burst, Shin puts down the textbook and stares into his cup of black tea absently. Carefully looking back at the portrait of the king again, he could not help but think the resemblance is too uncanny. In that portrait, which is stated in the textbook as commissioned in the fourth year into the king’s reign, seems to be drawn masterfully - too masterfully, in fact, that Shin feels that powerful stare even through a printed page. All the more bizarrely, Shin feels that same gaze every time he is with Wolfgang, who has never been one to shy away from looking at people straight into their eyes.

Tracing his fingers over the portrait, Shin mutters to himself that the depiction of the king and Wolfgang has too many similarities. Same strong brows, handsome face, and a heavy, intense golden gaze.

Lost in his thoughts, he fails to register his roommate’s knock on his door.

“Shin?” Only after hearing that voice, Shin snaps out of his musing and realizes Wolfgang must be back with their dinner. He quickly shuts his textbook and heads out to their kitchen to help Wolfgang unpack the food from the take-out boxes. Wolfgang is there right outside his door with his fist raised, about to knock again, when he sees Shin coming out and gives him a slow smile. Shin hates it that his heart immediately starts to do somersaults and heads off to the kitchen so Wolfgang wouldn’t see how red his face must be.

Still, Shin’s curiosity isn’t sated. All throughout dinner, he sneaks glances at his roommate (Sys insists that they’re already an old married couple, but Shin is still vehemently ignoring that) and wonders how he would look in a royal ensemble. Only, he doesn’t have to wonder, does he? Shin’s history textbook already displayed exactly how Wolfgang would look dressed as a king.

After dinner, Wolfgang suggests they watch a movie together and with nothing better to do and more than happy to spend more time near Wolfgang, Shin agrees easily and gets settled on the couch. About 20 minutes into the screen time, it becomes clear to Shin that he finds Wolfgang’s reactions to the movie much more entertaining than the movie itself and flushes red after he realizes how weird that sounds. Wolfgang, who curiously always seem to notice the changes in Shin’s moods, asks what’s wrong.

Let it be known that Shin normally has a functional brain-to-mouth filter and is in control of what comes out of his mouth. This, unfortunately, is not one of those times. A mystifying discovery combined with being in the presence of Wolfgang who always manages to bring down Shin’s walls even without trying, meant that before he knew what he is saying, Shin is blurting out what he saw in his history textbook.

“…and he looks exactly like you. Strange, isn’t it? But if he were still alive, he would be about 400 years old now. And there’s no way anyone would live that long, ancient magical abilities or not. Besides, why would anyone want to live that long anyways? Wouldn’t they get tired of everything after living that long?” Shin laughs a little to himself at the end of his contemplation, but he realizes that Wolfgang is now utterly silent. Sat next to him, the blond’s eyes have a sort of glassy quality to it and his broad shoulders are hunched in, as if to protect himself. Only, from what?

“Wolfgang? Is everything okay?”

At Shin’s question, Wolfgang meets his gaze and Shin is startled to find how much pain and grief is displayed in those depths. To Shin’s horror, tears start to stream down from Wolfgang’s eyes.

Flustered and confused, Shin did the first thing that came into his head and drew Wolfgang into an embrace, gently stroking his golden head. Wolfgang holds him back just as tight and Shin’s heart break when he notices how much Wolfgang is trembling. They stay that way, wrapped around each other until Wolfgang recovers his breath and slowly releases Shin. But he keeps their hands wrapped tight and soft asks, “Shin? If..if I tell you something, can you promise to listen to me till the end?”

Still confused but helpless to refuse anything Wolfgang requests, Shin nods.

Then, Wolfgang tells him a story of a king who was in love with a minister with a brilliant mind. They were extremely devoted to one another but the minister’s life was cut short by a tragedy. Unable to cope with the loss of his love, the king used a wish granted by a powerful being, the last of his available magical powers, to halt the passing of time for himself until the day he could see his love again. The king still dedicated himself to lead his kingdom into greatness, it was what his love wanted for him after all, but as the years went by, he had to remove himself from public attention lest everyone else starts to notice how he isn’t aging anymore. Afterwards, no longer a king, he traveled extensively, learning new things about strange places and other civilizations to recount it for his love who had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. It wasn’t easy, always being left behind by the people he meets, many of whom he grows to know and love but he had a singular purpose that kept him going all these years. But, after decades of loneliness, he finally found his long lost love and settled down to be with him.

When Wolfgang finishes his story, he holds Shins face in his hands and stares tenderly at him. After hearing that story, Shin finds that he cannot think. It is worse with how Wolfgang looks at him - full of sorrow, anguish, but mostly so much _love_.

Pushing away all the questions still burning in his mind for later, Shin drags Wolfgang in for a kiss and feels his heart complete.

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of want to elaborate on this story a little bit, but I wanted to get this prompt out quick so :D
> 
> Feel free to join me in admiring Wolfgang's humongous chest on twitter @babynakyum


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